The unique sports complex was owned by Wroclaw's Academy of Physical Education, and was sold to the developer Lower Silesian Investments in 2015. According to Wroclaw activists and architects, the building permit may have been challenged. Despite numerous appeals and media protests, and even a letter to the mayor, he began demolishing the historic Olympic Swimming Pool in Wroclaw.
a place with potential
This is an example of a unique European monument that should be made into a city attraction. It will soon turn a hundred years old, and what the decision-makers want to do to it passes the provisions on the protection and care of monuments.
- emphasized, Joanna Grzelczyk, an art historian and representative of the grassroots Initiative Group - Olympic Stadium, which fought to stop construction on the site of the former swimming pool, in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza.
photo archival photo | dolny-sląsk.pl
She was echoed by thousands of people, including architects. To the city authorities signed by more than 4.5 thousand people, a petition against this type on the site of the former Olympic Swimming Pool. Outrage was caused not only by the fact that anything could be built on a site whose potential is still alive, and that proper care of the historic sports complex would provide not only attractions, but also a great place for Wroclaw residents. The developer's intention was also objectionable. What will be built on the site of the demolished complex is assumed to be a private dormitory. a private dormitory, or a pat-developer?
The developer, Dolnośląskie Inwestycje company, in order to meet the guidelines of the site plan (which, after all, micro-apartments alone cannot fit into) announces the launch of wellness, physical therapy services, fitness and similar services. Also planned are two catering establishments. The facility is to be open and accessible not only to sstudents, but also to all other Wroclaw residents. The service premises located on the first floor, according to the plans, will be used to fulfill functions complementary to the sports infrastructure located on the AWF grounds. According to the developer's plans, the dormitory is to have three floors and 375 units.
visualization of the dormitory | author: Dolnośląskie Inwestycje S.A.
protests and open letter
As early as 2015, residents of Wroclaw objected to the Academy of Physical Education's plans to sell the plot. At that time, the land was bought by Dolnośląskie Inwestycje S.A. for just three million zlotys. Activists and residents protested against the announced investment.
Why didn't the city react in time?
In 2017, the investor presented a project for the construction of an apartment building. Both its height and function were incompatible with the local zoning plan. So the city's conservation officer did not issue a building permit, and her decision was upheld by the Ministry of Culture, to which the investor appealed. In 2020, the investor presented a new project, which with this local plan is already compatible. He wants to build a dormitory there. The city's conservation officer could therefore make no other decision than to accept the project. However, public officials pointed out that the swimming pool is part of the historic stadium complex, so it is protected by the entry in the register of monuments, and the decision could have been refused.
- Explained to Gazeta Wyborcza, Tomasz Myszko-Wolski of the Wrocław City Hall.
According to officials, a sudden change in the zoning plan would entail compensation. Activists from Aktion Miasto have asked the Lower Silesian conservator for an entry in the register of monuments, which could stop the work. However, the Lower Silesian conservator of monuments, Barbara Nowak-Obelinda, did not respond to the request, and there was no talk of initiating proceedings. MP Krzysztof Śmiszek called for a round table on the issue, and MP Małgorzata Tracz sent an additional intervention to the provincial conservator of monuments.
The last attempt to stop the work was a petition received by the authorities of Wroclaw. More than 4,500 signatures were collected against the planned investment.
On May 27, 2021, they addressed the mayor of Wroclaw, Jacek Sutryk, architect Daria Kieżun president of SARP O/Wrocław, on behalf of the Wroclaw branch of the Association of Polish Architects.
The swimming pool at the Olympic Stadium, designed according to innovative principles in line with the spirit of modernism, was and still is one of the elements of a larger, inseparable whole, rewarded for its splendor with a silver medal in the Olympic Art and Literature Competition during the 10th Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932. It is also part of the compositional axis of this unique place. Despite the ruin it has turned into due to the lack of required care and the destructive effects of time and human hands, it represents a value far greater than the plot of land on which it is located, something that some people don't seem to know or don't want to understand. They are unwilling or unable to understand what the loss of this facility will be to the site of the entire Olympic Stadium complex. This pool played a significant role as a forerunner and model of Olympic-sized swimming pools, made available to the city's residents both before and after the war. As one of the first European open swimming facilities of the early 20th century, it was an expression of the highest concern for the physical well-being and development of society.
- wrote the Wroclaw architects. The content of the letter is available, among others: HERE.
no response and a sad end
Despite the fact that the demolition was originally planned for August, just a few days after the petition and letter were submitted, the developer began demolishing the earthen embankment and the pool itself.
TheOlympic Stadium'ssports pool complex was built in the 1920s to a design by German architect Richard Konwiarz - an iconic figure in European sports architecture. After the war it belonged to the Academy of Physical Education. The swimming pools ceased to operate in 1978 .
In contrast, on the website of the Olympic Stadium Initiative Group, city activists have attached a visualization quite different from the one that heralds the future of the Wroclaw facility. If only...
Marta Kowalska
